


our knuckles are white

by jinxfabray



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: M/M, Polyamory, lunstal are here too, there's mentions of people drinking and going swimming, this is my hottest jongdae ever if i dare say so myself
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-31
Updated: 2018-12-31
Packaged: 2019-10-01 09:43:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,551
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17241953
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jinxfabray/pseuds/jinxfabray
Summary: it's just baekhyun's luck, having his boyfriend and the guy he's been seeing attend the same conference in a far away city.





	our knuckles are white

**Author's Note:**

> for quinn, who might not even read this now that i made them beta it.  
> i apologize in advance for mistakes but ao3 really kicked my ass while editing this for some reason  
> title from riches and wonders by the mountain goats

The video is pretty similar to all the others Jongdae’s been sending him, and yet Baekhyun can’t help but feel like something is different in this particular one. In twelve seconds, Chanyeol throws a peanut into the air, flips his head back and then closes his eyes. He’s learned his lesson from previous — also dutifully recorded and texted to Baekhyun — incidents. The peanut lands on his nose. Chanyeol giggles, straightens up his head, shakes the hair off his eyes and drops the peanut to the floor as he makes eye contact with Jongdae, who can’t be seen but can definitely be heard, his loud laughter echoing through wherever it is that they are now.

Nothing has changed, but Baekhyun hits replay, and he feels it again — something’s shifted.

  
  


[        a month ago         ]

  
  


Since the beginning of times, just like the sun has always risen in the east, Baekhyun has always loved Jongdae. He’s probably not been  _in_ love with Jongdae that long, but it feels like it. He loved Jongdae when they were little, and Jongdae would always lend him his crayons. He loved Jongdae when they were teenagers, and Jongdae would always bring Baekhyun along to parties he wasn’t invited to. He loves Jongdae now, more than ever, because it’s half past six am and Baekhyun has an exam at seven which is insane but as soon as he opens his eyes he smells coffee and he knows it’s Jongdae’s doing.

He unceremoniously rolls off the bed, realizing a second too late that falling onto the floor isn’t a great way to wake up, and yawns as he does his best to get on his feet without getting tangled in the sheets. As expected, Jongdae is sitting at the breakfast bar, two venti Starbucks cups placed on top of it, right next to his head which is buried between his arms. He’s snoring quietly, and Baekhyun never expected to feel fondness over someone snoring but Jongdae sniffles in his sleep and it makes his heart shiver in strange ways.

Their apartment only has one room, so it’s easy to coax Jongdae into moving towards the bed. As soon as Baekhyun pushes him onto it though, he grabs Baekhyun’s arm, trying to bring him down as well.

“‘s warm,” he mumbles as he buries his nose in the pillow Baekhyun was just drooling on a second ago, fingers tightly wrapped around his wrist.

“See, you don’t need me,” Baekhyun giggles, turning his hand so he can touch his forehead, running his finger down his cheek as Jongdae’s grip relaxes. 

“I have work in an hour,” Jongdae grunts, shifting his face under Baekhyun’s touch like a kitten trying to get his chin petted. 

“I’ll meet you for lunch,” Baekhyun says, though he doesn’t think Jongdae’s awake anymore. He checks Jongdae’s alarms to make sure he will actually get up in time for work, and then spends a solid three minutes untangling his earphones before he can finally leave for his exam, coffee in hand. 

Baekhyun doesn’t notice the little hearts in pen all over the cup until he’s halfway through solving equations. This time, he knows they’re from Jongdae because they’re in blue rather than the black Sharpie Starbucks uses, and he can’t help but smile at how stupidly thoughtful Jongdae is.

It had been a bit of a letdown last time, finding a cup on the table with a cute little message only to find out it had actually been from that one barista Jongdae fucked once, months ago, apparently eager to get a second shot. Jongdae had laughed it off, and Baekhyun had tried, but it had stirred something in him. It makes what Baekhyun is doing feel like cheating, when Jongdae acts like him actually having feelings for someone else would be insane, even if the whole concept of an open relationship that they carefully discussed beforehand clearly allowed that.

Baekhyun has too many numbers to take care of right now, and he does his best to get his mind off that track of thoughts but it’s there, deep down. There’s nothing to be worried about, not really. Jongdae loves him, he’s well aware of Baekhyun’s little infatuation, and nothing’s wrong. Except, maybe, for half the things Baekhyun’s written down on his exam so far — with a sip of his cranberry mocha, Baekhyun drives all boys off his mind, and gets back to work.

As usual, Baekhyun’s so-called little infatuation texts him the second he’s done with his exam, like he’s got a sixth sense for the little moments Baekhyun finds himself not thinking about him.

It’s stupid, because Baekhyun is in love and he hadn’t ever considered before that he could ever have room in his heart for anyone else, but this happened so fast he can’t help but worry about what it might mean. He’s in deeper than he dares admit, and he thinks Jongdae knows but doesn’t seem to care, which isn’t particularly reassuring either. 

 

Last year, when the conversation came up for the fifth time or so, they’d finally sat down to talk about what they wanted. Since the very beginning, they’d made things work by telling each other everything, which is how Baekhyun knew Jongdae found a certain neighbor ridiculously hot, and how Jongdae knew Baekhyun could never look away when that pretty blonde girl who always did open mics at their favorite pub showed up. It hadn’t ever made things weird, because they’d talked about so much so many times, it was silly to even think something like being into someone else could mean they weren’t as into each other as before. So, the decision had seemed almost logical.

“I don’t wanna hold you back from kissing a pretty girl if it’s gonna make you happy,” Jongdae had said so simply that Baekhyun had known it would be fine. “And if you kiss her and decide you’d rather kiss just her and not me… then it wouldn’t have made sense for me to be the only thing standing in the way of what you really wanted, you see?”

Baekhyun had, indeed,  _seen_ at the time. He’d gone and kissed Taeyeon about a week later, and it had been wonderful. After that, he’d gone home, slipped in bed next to Jongdae, and slept like an angel. He’d felt free, but also like there was nothing that could threaten their relationship ever now that this was an okay thing to do. No chance to hold grudges for lost opportunities.

When Jongdae had finally gathered the courage to ask out their neighbor from upstairs, he hadn’t come home until the next morning, and Baekhyun had slept with an unpleasant feeling in his stomach. But they’d talked for hours when Jongdae came back, until Baekhyun felt at ease, and the next time someone else took Jongdae home, Baekhyun had slept peacefully, knowing he’d have him back the next day and nothing would have changed.

Except then things changed, and Jongdae had nothing to do with it.

  
  
  
  


[        six months ago         ]

 

Chanyeol shows up on a Tuesday morning.

Baekhyun is working at his favorite cafe, sitting in his corner table with a latte that’s quickly turning into a frappuccino as he types away, when he spots him. Tall and lanky, a guy with curly hair walks in with a tiny puppy on a leash, choosing the table right across from him to drop down a billion folders. He sits down on the chair with a sigh so loud, Baekhyun can’t help but chuckle. 

“You okay there, buddy?” he asks, resting his chin on his hand as he looks him over. In his head, he hears Jongdae’s voice, reminding him it’s  _fine_ to be into other people — his exact words had been actually more along the lines of how it would help him feel less like a slut if he would actually get out and get some rather than wait for him at home like Penelope knitting endlessly. He was drunk at the time, so Baekhyun didn’t read too much into it, but he did know what Jongdae was trying to convey with his weird literary references.

“Yeah, yeah, just… lots of work!” The guy throws his hands up in the air, shaking his head at the mess he’s made on the table, chuckling under his breath. It’s low and charming, and Baekhyun’s hooked. “Not gonna get it done now though, just… thought I’d bring it outside, see if getting some air made it soften and it might let me deal with it finally.”

He shrugs with a sheepish smile, slightly tilting his head to the side as he considers the paperwork lying in front of him like it was a stubborn old friend. 

“Cute,” Baekhyun mumbles, mouth-to-brain filter broken as always. The guy looks up, confused.

“What?”

“Oh, nothing.” Waving his hand as he felt his cheeks growing warm, Baekhyun starts backpedaling through whatever his mind was starting to try to talk him into. This isn’t gonna work. He hasn’t flirted in years. If he had any doubts about whether he’d lost his touch or not, he has none left now. “I’ll let you get back to it, sorry for, uh. Interrupting your fresh air.”

“It’s no problem,” the guy replies, flashing him a bright grin. “Like I said, I wasn’t planning on getting anything done right now.”

The puppy, who’d been quietly sitting under the table, barks suddenly. It’s as high pitched as expected from such a small dog, and Baekhyun waves back fondly.

“It’s Toben,” the guy says, making Baekhyun look up. “The dog. His name is Toben.”

“Nice to meet you, Toben,” Baekhyun says, eliciting another bark from him. “I’m Baekhyun.”

“And I’m Chanyeol, nice to meet you.” The guy grins, teeth flashing so fast Baekhyun realizes he’s been set up unnecessarily. It feels nice though, having someone show interest like that. Especially when said someone looks like 

Chanyeol is a business major, which almost makes Baekhyun bring up Jongdae, but he doesn’t. He’s lived in Seoul for the past four years, and college is kicking his ass, but his internship —  that’s eating up his entire soul. He buys Baekhyun another latte when he realizes his has gone cold and not in the fun, frappe way, and he asks him a billion questions about his life which mostly make him realize how hard it is to talk about himself without talking about Jongdae. He manages, though. 

It’s not that he wants to deceive Chanyeol, it’s just that he finds himself so comfortable talking to him like this, he feels having to explain complicated things will just ruin the moment. If he talks about having a boyfriend, he has to make it clear that it’s fine if Chanyeol wants to keep flirting with him like he’s doing so blatantly, and that might make Chanyeol feel pressured or something. Baekhyun isn’t sure about the specifics of why his brain is working so hard to withhold any information about Jongdae, but he trusts his gut. Especially when it’s telling him to play it safe. 

At some point, Baekhyun remembers he’s there to work, but when he makes a move to go back to his own seat, Chanyeol puts a hand over his and immediately proceeds to turn so red Baekhyun almost offers him ice just so he doesn’t catch on fire. Instead, he stays where he is, working while Chanyeol goes over his papers and makes sure Toben doesn’t spend more than five minutes without being petted and reminded he’s a good boy.

Chanyeol asks him questions about his work, and Baekhyun does his usual stint where he vaguely answers he works with numbers and builds up the details until he reaches the actual answer. Usually people give up somewhere before that, but Chanyeol is so genuinely interested, he ends up telling him about his PhD faster than he’s told anyone, and he even gets to tell him about astronomy, and his major in physics, and how stars do all sorts of weird things and Baekhyun wants to know about all of them. Chanyeol seems impressed, and he doesn’t make any corny jokes about stars and fate, or about how Baekhyun must be a genius to be learning all that boring hard stuff. It’s a tiny thing, but details keep piling up. 

By the time Jongdae texts him, Chanyeol’s just given him his phone to put his number into, with subtle but vague promises of doing this again soon. The look on his face when Baekhyun’s screen lights up on the table is priceless, and Baekhyun feels a wave of regret hitting him as soon as he sees his lockscreen which features him and Jongdae with their cheeks pressed so tight there’s no room for doubt.

Chanyeol seems to go through a wide range of emotion, which start at shocked and end at very, very sad. He’s gone white, and Baekhyun stumbles over his words as he hurries to explain.

“It’s not what it looks like,” he manages to say at last, a bit desperate because Chanyeol’s disappointment is written all over him and Baekhyun doesn’t know what it feels like to kick a puppy but he’s pretty sure this is worse. “That’s… I have a boyfriend,” he says, and it makes Chanyeol’s frown deepen which hadn’t seemed physically possible a second ago. “But it’s not like that. It’s not – we’re in an open relationship, so. It’s fine. I’m not… I wasn’t doing anything wrong. I just didn’t wanna scare you.”

Chanyeol softens visibly at his words, but doesn’t seem fully convinced. 

“You didn’t mention him, not even once,” he says, but it’s a question, and Baekhyun isn’t sure he knows how to answer it so he just stares back for a moment, hoping he’ll somehow understand. “It sounds a little fishy.”

“I realize that,” Baekhyun concedes, still letting out a breath of relief when he sees Chanyeol’s shoulder loosen a little. “It’s a little new, and I – I guess I’m still not sure how it works, not entirely.”

“That’s a shame, because I was gonna ask how it works,” Chanyeol says, raising an eyebrow at him. 

It’s not that Baekhyun doesn’t know, it’s just that he has questions about how it works for him specifically, and he doesn’t think he can have answers to that unless he starts putting himself out there more. Somehow, that doesn’t seem like the right thing to say to the first person in a long time that’s made him actually consider doing that.

“We live together,” he starts, because he has to say something. “But we… we do whatever we like. With whomever we like. We talk about it, and we keep track of feelings. It sounds simpler than it is.”

“It doesn’t sound simple at all.” Chanyeol chuckles. At least he seems to have fully relaxed back into his position, no longer clutching his phone like he was just now, apparently torn between throwing it at Baekhyun’s head or breaking it in half. Neither would have been a good idea since it’s a pretty old phone and he would have either hurt his hand or possibly murdered Baekhyun right on the spot. “But I’ll take it, I guess. It sounds real, though it might be just because I want it to be.”

He’s so candid, Baekhyun is back to feeling at ease in no time. This he can work with. Someone he can trust to tell him how he’s feeling right when he’s feeling it –  sounds like the only type of person he’d let get involved in this when he’s still so confused.

“Does that mean we’re still on for doing this some other time?” he asks, gathering courage he didn’t know he had in him.

“Yeah, definitely.” Chanyeol nods, flashing his teeth at him once again, and Baekhyun is still as full of doubts as ever, but he feels a little closer to figuring it all out now.

  
  
  


It takes a while for Chanyeol to text him, and when they finally meet again, he avoids the subject as much as he can until he eventually gives in to Baekhyun’s teasing and confesses.

“I asked a friend if… if she thought it was real,” he says, staring down at his hands like his fingers hold the secret of life. “Not this, specifically, but, open relationships? Like the concept, I guess. I had my doubts.”

Baekhyun scoffs, having regained some confidence after hours and hours of talking about this with Jongdae. Granted, it mostly consisted of Jongdae teasing him about having a crush, but eventually Baekhyun got him to sit down and give him the reassurance he needed, even if it took some time.

“I suppose it’s a valid question,” he admits when he sees the way Chanyeol is looking at him. “Okay, fine, I guess no one is born knowing this kind of thing and no one really… tells you about it either.”

“Sunyoung said that as long as you’re communicating with your partner openly, then it should be fine,” Chanyeol says, eyes on the ceiling like he’s reciting it after having memorized it. Baekhyun suspects that’s the case indeed. “Anyway, it’s not like we’re doing anything, but I wanted to make sure.”

“Because you like me,” Baekhyun interrupts, eyes sparkling though he was already aware of the fact Chanyeol finds him not terrible.

“Shut up.” Chanyeol kicks him under the table, but it’s soft and Baekhyun is too busy gloating to notice. “I’m just here because you mentioned you were into astronomy and I was hoping you could help me get my birth chart.”

“I’m going to murder you,” Baekhyun states plainly. Chanyeol bursts into laughing, unaware of the seriousness of the threat, and he’s so loud Baekhyun would be embarrassed if he wasn’t far too used to people turning their heads whenever someone laughs at his table. For a split second, a thought crosses his mind about how Jongdae and Chanyeol would get along, if they ever met, but he kills that idea with fire as quickly as possible. 

It comes back to his mind later that night, when Jongdae comes home after his date with the barista and sneaks into bed, arms wrapping around Baekhyun’s waist as he kisses the back of his head. Baekhyun was just thinking about Chanyeol as he drifted off, and he would’ve expected to feel embarrassed at being caught like that, but he doesn’t. Jongdae gets comfortable under the covers, attaching his body to Baekhyun’s back.

“How was your day?” he whispers, face buried in Baekhyun’s neck.

“Fine,” Baekhyun replies, rolling over so he can actually face his boyfriend. He yawns, rubbing the back of his hand against his eyes to try and wake up a little so they can talk before he crashes. “Saw Chanyeol today.”

“Aw, how’s your crush?” Jongdae asks, teasingly as he cups Baekhyun’s cheek in his hand, fingers playing with the ends of his hairs.

“Do you mean how is he, or how’s the stupid feeling you insist on calling a crush?” Baekhyun raises his eyebrows. He’s trying to sound annoyed, but it just comes out like a sleepy mumble instead.

“I mean how is he, but if you want we can talk about your feelings instead.” Jongdae half shrugs, his fingers running down Baekhyun’s cheek, tracing his jaw and going down the side of his neck. 

“Can we do that in the morning?” Baekhyun asks, effectively awake now that Jongdae’s fingers have reached his chest. 

Jongdae kisses him hard, with no hesitation. He knows all his buttons, every inch of skin he barely needs to graze over to make Baekhyun shiver. He sucks on his bottom lip, hands going to his back to pull him closer still, and Baekhyun doesn’t think about Chanyeol again.

  
  
  


The next time they meet, Baekhyun has a hickey the size of Russia right above his collarbone. Chanyeol’s expression when he sees it is indecipherable. 

  
  


It takes exactly five months and five days for Baekhyun to kiss Chanyeol. It’s been a long day, and Baekhyun is so tired he can barely feel his limbs. After his morning exam, lunch with Jongdae and some tutoring in the afternoon, he was ready to get into bed and sleep until death came for him, but Chanyeol texted him about a new place he wanted to try because apparently they gave you a free shot if you ordered the extra spicy burritos, and he just hadn’t known how to say no.

They don’t get the extra spicy burritos, but they do get shots, and it only takes two for Baekhyun to start talking about everything he’s been through this year. School has been harder than ever, his mom got sick, and now he’s gone and caught feelings when all he was supposed to be doing was getting dick.

“Or pussy,” Chanyeol helpfully supplies, but then his brain seems to process what Baekhyun is trying to say, and his face goes from shock to surprise to despair, all in one second. “You have a boyfriend,” he points out, like Baekhyun could possibly forget.

“I love Jongdae,” Baekhyun says automatically. That hasn’t changed. He’s got an extra set of feelings, they haven’t displaced the ones that were there before, and that’s hard to explain but in his heart it feels simple and clear as water. 

“Well,” Chanyeol says, putting the empty shot glass he’d been dangerously waving about in the air as they discussed the pros and cons of academia. They’re standing by the bar, and Baekhyun is starting to feel incredibly hot, so much he’s wondering if maybe the spiciness from the burritos wasn’t hidden in the shots. “Well, I like you too.” Chanyeol shrugs, making it sound as if it’s no big deal.

And maybe it isn’t. Maybe Baekhyun can have this. Maybe Jongdae would want him to have this, for some reason he can’t understand. But they’re here, and Chanyeol is wearing a white shirt that amplifies the broadness of his shoulders, and besides wanting to forever hear him laugh at his jokes, Baekhyun wants to get lost in that broadness.

He steps forward and Chanyeol steps back naturally, reaching to put a hand on Baehkyun’s waist. It feels alright. Baekhyun closes the distance between them, and finds out he has to go on tiptoes to actually kiss him, but for once he decides not to fight for his dignity and he just does it, pressing his lips to Chanyeol’s.

Chanyeol pulls him close, his grip on Baekhyun’s waist tightening until he’s almost holding him up, and as much as Baekhyun would like to complain about tall people privilege, he can’t bring himself to be bothered about being held like this. Deep down, he thinks he might even like it.

They kiss until someone whistles at them and it makes them pull apart, but Baekhyun stays close, tongue running over his lips as he stares back at Chanyeol, wondering if he looks that starstruck himself.

“Do you wanna come over?” he asks. His hand found support on Chanyeol’s arm, and he squeezes it just because he can, but it seems to work because Chanyeol bites down on his lip, considering it.

“I don’t know,” he says at last, and it comes out as more of a sigh than anything else. “We should talk about it, first, and we should do that sober — so not now, I think. When I come back, we can hang out, and talk about it, and then we can… see what happens.”

Chanyeol’s plan sounds solid and he looks hopeful, which Baekhyun chooses to interpret as him wanting Baekhyun to say yes so they can fuck soon. The only flaw is Baekhyun didn’t know he was leaving, and if he did, he forgot. 

“Come back from where?” 

“The conference?” Chanyeol frowns, confused, and Baekhyun mirrors his expression for a moment. 

He vaguely remembers Chanyeol telling him about some conference in Jeju, but he hadn’t realized that was now, and he had definitely not realized if it’s now, and it’s a business conference in Jeju, then Chanyeol isn’t the only one going.

“Baek? You okay?” Chanyeol puts a hand to his forehead as if Baekhyun could have possibly caught a fever in the past ten seconds, but he’s fine. Besides having a mild panic attack, he’s fine.

“I just need some fresh air  — actually, I think I need to go home,” he says, blinking up at Chanyeol’s face of utter distress. “It’s not about you, I promise, I  — we can definitely talk about this when you get back. Thanks for the kiss. It was a nice kiss. Can you take me home now?”

“Sure, I’ll take you home,” Chanyeol nods, pulling away, and Baekhyun breathes out, once, twice, three times. It’s going to be a long ride home.

  
  
  
  


When Jongdae was eighteen, his one and only dream was to major in business so he could start his own company. He’d had the whole plan set up for a long time, and all he needed was a nice degree to hang on the wall of his office with a view.

After two years, it had become clear even though Jongdae had a sense for business, he certainly didn’t have a sense for studying. There were too many classes that had nothing to do with what he was interested in, and he couldn’t concentrate on them at all — things weren’t looking so good. That was when Soojung showed up. Having been one of Jongdae’s best and most intimidating friends since middle school, in Baekhyun’s opinion, Soojung was going through the same thing — her dream of becoming an engineer didn’t seem to be working out because, in his own words, ‘school’s lame’, but she’d developed a nice little set of apps that were really taking off despite having no degree on her wall.

Jongdae’s dream business included social media management, and Soojung’s apps fit perfectly into his plan. It hadn’t taken much to talk him into dropping out, much to Baekhyun’s dismay, who couldn’t imagine a life outside college. Still, he’d collaborated with their plan, investing in their baby company before it was even real, and now, Baekhyun is paying his way through grad school with Jongdae’s profits. 

It did well. Jongdae’s ideas and Soojung’s skillful hands went perfectly together, and their company might not have a gigantic building, but it has a very nice set of offices on the highest floor of a shared building. 

Baekhyun’s mentioned none of this to Chanyeol, with a lot of effort, not because he’s not ridiculously proud of his boyfriend but because he tried his best to keep them as far apart as he could. He sees the obvious mistake now — Jongdae gets invited to conferences a lot, being a young prodigy and all, and Chanyeol is a business major, so they were bound to cross paths. He just hadn’t expected it to happen so soon.

He tells Jongdae while they’re having lunch in his office, and Jongdae laughs so hard he almost chokes on his sushi roll.

“I’m finally going to meet Chanyeol and you won’t be there?” he asks when his life is out of danger, wiping his mouth with a napkin because he’s a CEO or something and he needs to not have soy sauce all over his face if he expects to be treated with respect. “That sucks. But also, it’s kind of hilarious — you would date two people and then have them both leave the city at the same time.”

“Wow, I’m glad my pain brings you so much joy,” Baekhyun says, clutching his chest so Jongdae knows he’s mortally wounded him. “But honestly, just… I don’t know what the rules are for this kind of situation.”

“I don’t think there are any rules,” Jongdae shrugs, leaning back on his fancy chair as he rolls up the sleeves of his shirt. Baekhyun is almost certain he wears shirts and dress pants just to fuck with him, because he’s seen how Soojung goes to work and he’s pretty sure those sweatpants are the same ones she sleeps in. “If you don’t want me to talk to him or something, just say so, I’d understand if you needed some boundaries.”

It’s frustrating in some ways, how good Jongdae seems to be at this. Baekhyun’s only comfort is that if he’s good at relationships, he’s learned it from dating Jongdae, which must mean he’s not so bad himself. Hopefully.

“No, it’s fine if you talk to him,” he says, though the thought is rather intimidating and he’s not sure why. Jongdae is charming and so funny, and he’s incredibly handsome — Chanyeol is going to love him. That’s not something to worry about it. It shouldn’t be. “Just, you know. Make sure he doesn’t fall for you.” Baekhyun laughs in the worst performance the world’s ever seen, killing his acting career before even considering it.

“Baby,” Jongdae says, lowering his voice to that tone Baekhyun knows means serious feelings business, yet still makes his dick feel summoned because frankly, Jongade should know better than to use his low register for anything besides sex. “I’m not going to mess with whatever it is you two have going on, you know that. You come first, always, and frankly if he’s met you already, I wouldn’t stand a chance even if I tried.”

Baekhyun sighs and nods, slightly reassured.He eats the last of his noodles, getting up from his seat and walking round Jongdae’s desk.

“Okay, Okay. I trust you, obviously,” he says, making Jongdae roll his eyes. “It’s just gonna suck, being left completely alone while you two are gone.”

“I know,” Jongdae says with a fond smile, turning his chair around because he’s known Baekhyun for his whole life, and he knows the only reason he would actually get up and walk right after eating is to switch seats. In this case, the better seat, even better than the stupidly expensive chair Jongdae keeps for visitors, is Jongdae’s lap, where Baekhyun fits perfectly. “But we’ll be back soon, it will pass in a flash,” Jongdae adds, running his hand down Baekhyun’s back soothingly. 

“It better be true,” Baekhyun says with a frown that Jongdae hurries to kiss, pulling him in close. From the other side of the door, Soojung’s voice loudly announces she’s coming in and they better be decent, and Baekhyun just cuddles up closer, grinning at her when she opens the door and sighs at them. 

In the end, he has to leave so Jongdae can get back to work. It’s a good chance to text Chanyeol and kindly inform him of these unexpected circumstances, but Baekhyun chooses to wait until he’s home. He’s got a twenty minute bus ride back to his apartment, and he’s got quite a lot to think about before he tries talking to Chanyeol about the one and only topic they’ve avoided so far — Jongdae.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


The hotel is really, really,  _really_ nice. Chanyeol’s been in hotels, sure, but he’s never been in a hotel that had more than one swimming pool, and this one has three. One’s heated, one’s inside, and one’s outside, on the roof, with a view of the city he can’t quite believe. It’s so hot in Jeju when they arrive, the only thing he can think of is the pool, but then he’s led to his room and the air conditioner turns into the most important thing in his life.

It’s not the first time he’s been to a conference either, but as a grad student, he usually doesn’t get to go to conferences of this calibre. It’s three weeks long, and every person who’s done something important is coming to give a talk, with very long debate sessions and everything. Chanyeol has brought notebooks and his laptop, and he’s ready to learn so much his head will hurt on the way back. This is a big deal for his thesis, and he’s been waiting for it for months.

Baekhyun’s boyfriend being there is a nuisance, but it’s a minor one. He’s not threatened — Baekhyun’s explained enough about their relationship to know he shouldn’t be. He’s curious, though, but he’s not here to socialize with people who might make his life more difficult, he’s here to study and to meet people who might be of use in the future. For some reason, he can’t quite see himself going into business with Kim Jongdae of all people.

There’s a cocktail party the first night, and Chanyeol spots Jongdae right away. He’s hard to miss, since he’s constantly surrounded by basically everyone Chanyeol’s interested in meeting, and also because he seems to… shine, somehow. He’s not sure if it’s because he’s so tan, or because his hair is the perfect shade of blond, or maybe it’s just that he’s in his natural element and maybe Chanyeol is a bit threatened all of a sudden. He doesn’t think Jongdae’s even noticed him, until Baekhyun texts him later that night when he’s already in bed, with a picture attached to his message. It’s a picture of Chanyeol, eating a shrimp cocktail with his pinky held out as if he’s having a nice cup of tea with the Queen of England. He was trying to be delicate, which is hard for him when it comes to food, so of course Jongdae noticed him at that time. 

It’s nice knowing besides being successful and beautiful, Jongdae also happens to be a bit of a little shit, sending Baekhyun unflattering pictures of Chanyeol. For a second Chanyeol wants to storm out of his room and go have a chat with Jongdae about how he’s supposed to be cool with whatever’s happening between Chanyeol and Baekhyun, but then Baekhyun sends him a string of heart eyed emojis after the picture, and he relaxes. Jongdae knows Baekhyun — he’s not being mean, he’s just making sure Baekhyun doesn’t miss them. Or so Chanyeol chooses to believe.

It happens again the next day. The talks start, and Chanyeol sits at the front, glasses on, laptop out, taking notes of everything that’s said as fast as he can type. They’re halfway through the afternoon session when his phone buzzes, and it’s Baekhyun telling him to sit up straight. Chanyeol blushes, and he doesn’t mean to turn around but he does it out of reflex, accidentally making eye contact with Jongdae who’s staring right at him, an amused smile on his face. It must look weird, if anyone else is paying attention to them, for Jongdae to be randomly taking pictures of someone he’s never spoken to, but he doesn’t seem to mind it, and no one knows who Chanyeol is so he can be chill about it, even if it’s odd.

On the third day, Jongdae gives a talk. It’s one of the long ones, a whole fifty minutes, so Chanyeol does what he figures is best for his eyesight and he sits on the back so he can avoid being blinded by those teeth Jongdae seems to find it impossible to conceal. 

He’s heard about Jongdae, sure, but actually hearing him speak is… special. By the end of the hour, Chanyeol’s sitting at the edge of his chair, his fingers aching from how much he’s typed. Jongdae doesn’t just know about his craft, he knows how to keep an audience interested, and Chanyeol feels sick to his stomach. If he thought he seemed to be shining while sitting around, he was in no way prepared to see him on a stage. Jongdae owns the spotlight like he was born for it, waving his hands around as his carefully prepared presentation slides shift in the background, and every pair of eyes in the crowd is trained on him from beginning to end. It makes sense for a man like that to be dating Baekhyun, who grins and makes the sun come up everytime, and Chanyeol has never felt this tiny.

He almost runs into him at the coffee break session after his talk, but Chanyeol puts his very long extremities to use and avoids him, quickly sneaking into the bathroom. He’d expected there to be some awkwardness between him and the man whose boyfriend he’d kissed, but this is way too much for Chanyeol to handle. 

He avoids Jongdae on the fourth day, and on the fifth there’s a formal dinner and Jongdae’s practically chasing him — or maybe Chanyeol’s gone so paranoid he can’t stop seeing him everywhere he goes. It gets to a point where his avoidance becomes too obvious, and Jongdae suddenly vanishes. As it usually does, the evening is spiraling down quickly, because giving free alcohol to people who are far from home makes them do stupid things, and Chanyeol soon gets overwhelmed  at how many people he admires — who he’s gonna have to hear being serious about work the next week — are currently getting down and dirty on the dancefloor. 

His first intention when he ditches is to just go back to his room, since the dinner is at the hotel’s restaurant and now everyone’s at the ballroom, but it’s hot and he’s a bit tipsy, so he pushes the number of the highest floor instead and heads to the pool. He needs to clear his head, and getting his feet in the cold water might help. 

The elevator is ridiculous. It makes no noise at all, smooth and entirely silent, and the machine that announces which floor he’s at sounds like the nicest lady in the world and very much unlike a machine. Chanyeol is still laughing at the Black Mirror episode he was picturing in his head featuring a talking elevator when the doors open, and his amusement dies as soon as he sees the pool isn’t empty. Jongdae’s sitting on the edge, with water up to his calves, a bottle by his thigh. The quiet elevator beeps when the doors open, and Chanyeol curses when he looks up, because now it would look terrible if he were to turn around and leave.

With a sigh, he gathers courage and walks up to him. Jongdae’s giving Chanyeol an amused look, and he pats the spot next to him. He’s infuriatingly handsome with that teasing expression on his face. He’s unbuttoned his white shirt, with only a few of the lower buttons keeping it in place, and Chanyeol definitely didn’t need to be exposed to his chest the first time they speak, but here he is. He’s rolled up his sleeves and his pants, and from the sparkle in his eyes Chanyeol guesses he’s a bit tipsy himself, his lips slightly tinted from the red wine he’s drinking. 

“At last we meet,” Jongdae says with a low chuckle when Chanyeol sits down next to him, cross legged because as much as he wants to try the water, he’s not quite ready to get undressed in front of Jongdae. “I was starting to think you were avoiding me.”

Chanyeol doesn’t know what to answer, staring blankly ahead while he tries to come up with a way to fix the awkward situation he’s got himself in. He turns around, holding out his hand.

“I’m… I’m Park Chanyeol. We haven’t been properly introduced, so. Nice to meet you,” he says hesitantly, making eye contact with Jongdae. He’s so different from Baekhyun, less loud, more focused, but he’s similar in so many ways, especially in how transparent he is. In his eyes, Chanyeol can see the confusion, then the amusement, and then he’s pretty sure he can read Jongdae’s thoughts when he decides he’ll give him a shot.

“Kim Jongdae. Nice to meet you too — can I just call you Chanyeol?” he asks as he shakes his hand, a hint of laughter in his voice he can’t quite conceal, but he’s trying and Chanyeol will take that.

“Sure,” he nods, rubbing his hand against his pants because shaking hands always gives him a strong fear he might be sweaty. “How are you enjoying Jeju so far?”

At this, Jongdae can’t keep it in anymore, and he bursts into laughter.

“Jesus, Chanyeol — I think we’re past acting like strangers.”

“We are strangers,” Chanyeol supplies helpfully, and Jongdae rolls his eyes at him, moving his feet in the water to make waves.

“I don’t think that’s true, I’ve heard so much about you,” he says quietly. He’s different now, different from how he was on the stage and different from how Chanyeol’s seen him be during debate sessions or coffee breaks. He’s more relaxed, and he looks less like the business shark Chanyeol was so scared of approaching. He just looks like a guy now, still intimidating because of his face, but — just a guy. “I don’t know what… I mean, I get it if you don’t wanna like, befriend me,” he shrugs, but he can’t hide the idea alone seems to be hurtful to him. “But I would like to at least get to talk to you, while we’re here. It’s an odd chance we’ve got, and I… I’m interested in learning more about you. For purely scientific reasons.”

“For science’s sake,” Chanyeol says teasingly, and Jongdae laughs, loud and bright like he’s made the funniest joke ever. Like Baekhyun would have laughed. “It’s not that I don’t want to befriend you, I don’t have any ulterior motives, I just… I didn’t know how to approach you,” Chanyeol lies easily, shrugging his shoulders. Jongdae tilts his head to look at him, assessing, and seems to conclude Chanyeol is telling the truth. “I would like to get to know you, too. For obvious reasons that aren’t very scientific.”

“If I can be honest with you,” Jongdae stage whispers, lifting a hand to cover his mouth and making himself louder instead. “My reasons aren’t that scientific either.”

His laughter is so loud this time it resonates even though they’re in the open, and Chanyeol laughs along, his shoulders relaxing at last.

“You’re a bit drunk, aren’t you?” he dares ask, and Jongdae, much to his surprise, blushes a deep shade of pink.

“Ah, I’m not — I’m really not good at social events like this. I get too nervous, standing in front of an audience and stuff, and then dinners like tonight, when everyone’s drunk and they forget they’re supposed to be polite and civil if they wanna ask you uncomfortable questions, it gets overwhelming,” he says, an apologetic smile on his lips as he looks up at the sky. Chanyeol doesn’t look at his exposed neck, and how when he moves, his shirt opens a little more, leaving even more skin right where he can see it. He definitely doesn’t do that, and he doesn’t sigh a little at the sight. Except he can’t help doing it, because he’s entranced by how humble Jongdae sounds, like he hasn’t been the center of attention all week because of his own achievements. Like it’s a burden, but he’s not complaining. He’s all that, and he’s also got a perfect jaw, and Chanyeol thinks the world is a very unfair place. Under any other circumstances, he’d be all over him already. He knows he could get Jongdae’s attention easily if he stopped making himself as small as humanly possible, he’s well aware of his own face and how the hours at the gym have paid off, but it feels terribly wrong to be even thinking about it.

“You looked like you were handling it quite well,” Chanyeol comments. Jongdae raises an eyebrow and smirks because Chanyeol’s been paying attention and he knew it but now he’s admitted it, and it’s amazing how easily Jongdae switches it back on, the teasing. “Your talk was very good. Like, one of the best ones of the week.”

“Thanks,” Jongdae says simply, like it’s no big deal, and he goes back to staring at his feet as he splashes water all around them. “Oh my god, you know what we should do? We should send Baekhyun a picture, he’ll freak out,” he blurts out suddenly, looking up at Chanyeol.

He’s already got his phone out before Chanyeol’s replied, and Baekhyun’s at the top of his contacts, so he’s got the camera ready in an instant.

“Come on, he’ll love it,” Jongdae says with so much conviction Chanyeol can’t find it in him to refuse him. Scooting up closer, he watches Jongdae find an angle so that they both fit, and with a click, they’re immortalized. Or at least kept in the cloud until that stops being a thing. Jongdae types at the speed of light, which makes sense for someone who makes a living out of phones, and Chanyeol can’t read what the texts say but he can see the two types of bubbles so he knows Baekhyun is replying. “He’ll kill me, but he says hi.”

“Say hi back,” Chanyeol says, feeling in way over his head once again. Jongdae’s got a confidence in his every move that makes him feel like a fish out of water, but he can’t help wanting Jongdae to like him. Or at least feel the responsibility to show him he’s not letting his boyfriend go out with a complete idiot, and so far Chanyeol’s not so sure he’s achieved that. 

Jongdae takes a swig from his wine bottle, and offers it to Chanyeol, eyebrows wiggling.

“Come on, it won’t be the first thing we both get our mouths on,” he says, and he makes it sound so dirty Chanyeol grows very warm all over, hurrying to grab the water and take a long chug while Jongdae cackles. “We’re gonna have fun, Chanyeollie, I promise,” he says with a nod as he retrieves the bottle, and Chanyeol takes another sip before giving it back, suspecting he might be needing a flask to get him through the next two weeks if Jongdae’s gonna be like this all the time.

  
  


_ 03:14 _

**bf**

_ [image.jpg] _

_ i swear to god i did not push him into the pool _

_ he fell all by himself _

_ it’s kind of blurry bc i was laughing soz _

 

_ 03:15 _

_   jongdae ffs _

_     were u just laughing instead of helping him _

_ if u didnt want me to see other people u could have just said so _

_               u didnt have to try and KILL HIM _

 

_ 03:16 _

**bf**

_i did no such thing :(((((_

_ i actually like him!!!! _

_ dont be stoooopid _

_ [...] _

_ [...] _

_ i miss u _

_ 03:18 _

_ chanyeol says ur cool so _

_ pls dont kill him _

_ i miss u too _

_ minseok hyung says he misses u too _

 

_ 03:20 _

**bf**

_ i bet he does _

_ but i miss u more  _

_ ily _

_ good night baekhyunnie _

_ 03:21 _

_ i love you too _

_ good night <3 _

  
  
  
  


The next morning is tough. Chanyeol has a hangover the size of a house, and he’s concerned about showing up at the conference room and looking like an actual mess, but he figures that’s why they only set up one session for Saturday and it starts at eleven am. When he actually gets there, though, it’s better than he’d expected. Only half the attendants are there, and everyone looks worse than he does. Jongdae’s sitting at the back, a Starbucks frappuccino in his hand, and he’s wearing sunglasses even though the talk has already started. Chanyeol hesitates for a second, but then he makes up his mind and goes sit next to him.

“You look like shit,” Jongdae says, leaning over to whisper right against his ear. Chanyeol nearly chokes on air, having to fake a cough to get past it. 

“You don’t look so great yourself,” he whispers back, and Jongdae smirks. He’s a jerk, Chanyeol’s decided. It’s funny because he’s gotten a lot of very positive feedback throughout his life on his own brand of knowing his hot and making sure everyone else is aware of it, but Jongdae is on a different level.

He’s got his laptop open, and Chanyeol can’t help but take a peek, wanting to see what magic things Jongdae has open that make him such a success in life or whatever. He’s got only one window open, and in it he’s messaging Baekhyun links to pictures that Chanyeol can only assume are memes. It’s cute. 

“Do you wanna get lunch after this?” Jongdae asks, not even bothering to whisper anymore. 

“Sure,” Chanyeol nods, glancing at the front to at least pretend he’s paying attention to the talk.

“Do you wanna go get lunch now?” Jongdae asks after a beat, and Chanyeol’s grabbing his bag before he’s even done asking his question.

It’s not Jongdae’s first time in Jeju, and it’s not his first time in this particular hotel either, so he’s very acquainted with his surroundings and he doesn’t hesitate as he leads Chanyeol to his favorite restaurant. It’s barely a hole in the wall, but the girl at the front desk greets Jongdae as if they’re best friends, and they immediately start bringing them dishes before they’ve had a chance to look at the menu.

“This looks expensive,” Chanyeol says, eyeing the meat laid in front of them as Jongdae proceeds to grill it ceremoniously.

“It’s really not — and the company that organizes the conference pays for my expenses, so I gotta make good use of that.” He shrugs, eyes focused on the ribs he’s cooking. 

“How does it feel, being… I don’t know, popular, I guess?” Chanyeol asks, resting his elbows on the table once it becomes clear Jongdae’s not going to let him do any of the work.

“Popular is so not the word.” Jongdae chuckles. “Everyone at these things hates me. They hate that I didn’t go to college, they hate that I’m making money with ideas only a millennial could’ve had — it just looks bad if they don’t invite me, considering every person under thirty wants to be me. But they really hate that part too.”

“That sounds pleasant,” Chanyeol snorts, straightening up when the waiter shows up with beers for them. 

“I get to come here and eat good food and tell a bunch of students they don’t actually need that degree as much as they think they do, so in the end, it’s still a win for me.” Jongdae shrugs, lifting a piece of meat with his chopsticks and leaning over the table. “Try this,” he tells Chanyeol, feeding him the best ribs Chanyeol’s ever tasted.

“That’s incredible,” Chanyeol nods. “The meat, I mean, not — the other thing is kind of impressive too.”

“I don’t mean no offense, though, I know I got very lucky and I’m sure someone with deeper knowledge of business would have done this faster and better,” Jongdae says, halting his movements and staring at Chanyeol carefully. “A degree is great. College is great, if you can handle it. I have tons of advisors with PhDs and I wouldn’t be where I am without them. It just wasn’t the right path for me.”

“I get that,” Chanyeol replies, touched by how concerned Jongdae is about hurting Chanyeol’s feelings when he barely knows him. “It’s different, I think, if you have such a clear idea of what you want to do — maybe that alone gives you the tools to do it. I have no idea what I want to do, I just know it’s… vaguely related to this,” he says, moving his hands in a meaningless gesture. Jongdae feeds him another piece of meat before throwing the rest of the plate on the grill, and handing him his own pair of chopsticks so he can eat properly. 

Jongdae’s presence feels big and solid, like he’s the embodiment of Spiderman’s quote, with great power, and subsequent great responsibility burdening him. It doesn’t remind Chanyeol of Baekhyun at all, when he’s talking about work. Baekhyun talks about the stars like they’re his favorite movie, like he’s fascinated and his job is merely getting to read his favorite book as many times as he wants to. Jongdae sounds like he’s got to carry a heavy weight up and down a mountain just to keep his empire running, and it pleases him, but it pains him too. They’re so different, and Chanyeol just aims to be somewhere in the middle when he finds his own calling, which they both seem to have done at such early ages. 

Chanyeol knows Jongdae thinks he doesn’t see him, but he’s aware he’s being photographed when he accidentally spills rice all over the table. It doesn’t bother him because he knows it’s for Baekhyun, but it makes him curious. He wants to know more about what Jongdae thinks of this situation, but he’s not ready to ask just yet. Instead, he asks about the famous Jung Soojung he’s heard so much about, and Jongdae’s entire faces lights up.

“Soojung-ah… she’s the best,” he says with such pride, Chanyeol can’t help but smile back. “She came up with every piece of tech we use, she could be running this thing all on her own if she didn’t hate dealing with people so much.”

“Oh, that’s a shame,” Chanyeol says, regretting it the second the words are out because he was supposed to ask subtly, and instead he’s just going to throw Sunyoung under the spotlight like that. “I have a friend — Sunyoung, just, one of my best friends, really — and she’s been kind of infatuated with Soojung since she was in that one magazine about the thirty under thirty or whatever.”

“You want me to set Soojung up with someone?” Jongdae asks, genuinely puzzled. “I — I mean, she’s amazing, but I’ve seen her chew people up and spit them out like they’re nothing if they approach her before she’s had her coffee, it’s kind of risky.”

“I’m pretty sure Sunyoung could take that,” Chanyeol says, because he’s already brought her name to the conversation and it feels like the only way to make it right is if he actually gets her that date.

“I’ll try,” Jongdae says, finishing his beer. “But no promises. And you have to make sure your friend doesn’t tell her about you and Baekhyun and this whole thing because she’s gonna freak on me.”

There’s an awkward pause. Chanyeol hadn’t considered Jongdae might not have been telling people about their unconventional lifestyle, but it makes sense he would keep it a secret. He can’t really imagine going home and explaining to his mom and sister that he’s dating a guy with a boyfriend, but everyone is okay with it for some reason.

“Sure, Sunyoung’s good with secrets,” he says, and Jongdae must notice his sudden stiffness because he hurries with his reply.

“It’s not that I don’t want her to know, it’s just that she’s been bothering me about this one guy for ages that she thought had a thing for me and we have a bet and I… I kind of slept with him, and I don’t want her to earn bragging rights forever,” Jongdae winces, and this time it’s Chanyeol who bursts into laughter, so loud people turn to look at them.

He’s about to say something else, but his phone buzzes, and it’s a picture of Baekhyun with Toben. He’s babysitting because it made the most sense for him to keep the puppy if he was being left by both of them, and he’s making good use of their combined cuteness to pull at Chanyeol’s heartstrings. When he looks up from his phone, Jongdae’s giving him a quizzical look, so he turns his phone to show him the picture. Jongdae’s expression softens so much, he almost seems like a different person.

“That idiot,” he says, so overflowing with fondness Chanyeol feels almost uncomfortable.

  
  


(Throughout their second week, Jongdae sends Baekhyun thirty-four pictures of Chanyeol and four different videos. In all of them, Chanyeol is doing something dumb, and Baekhyun can tell Jongdae’s teasing him for having caught feelings for such a giant dork, but it only makes the feelings worse. He tells him it’s backfiring, and all Jongdae replies are laughing emojis.)

  
  


The third week is rough. They have workshops, where they sit in groups and work on plans for imaginary businesses, and they make presentations. It’s tough work because a lot of the seniors present there have no interest in participating, and teams with too many seniors, like Chanyeol’s, end up having the youngest do all the work. Jongdae’s team doesn’t get much work done because all they do is fight. They sit at a corner of the room, and Chanyeol suffers from seeing how much shit they put Jongdae through, teasing him like he’s not the one making the most money on the entire table, but he’s got plenty in his own plate to take care of and he’s supposed to impress the people in his team if he wants them to remember him next time they have to hire someone.

Workshops end at six, and by seven, Jongdae and Chanyeol are always at the hotel bar, having only two beers each because they agreed it was the most they could manage if they’re supposed to get back to work the next day. Jongdae has proven he could drink Chanyeol under the table any day, but he seems to have set on a limit that works for both of them, and Chanyeol appreciates it because it’s tempting to just keep drinking some evenings. 

They talk about everything, and by Friday, Chanyeol knows just as much about Jongdae as he knows about Baekhyun. Or perhaps he’s just drunk and feels that because of the alcohol. Either way, they’ve achieved Jongdae’s goal of getting to know each other, and they’ve bonded more than Chanyeol could have ever expected. 

Jongdae’s plane leaves on Saturday afternoon, and Baekhyun’s picking him up. Chanyeol doesn’t leave until Saturday at midnight, so they have no limits that night. They meet at the hotel bar and Jongdae gestures for Chanyeol to follow, crossing the street to the convenience store instead. They buy a six pack, peanuts and chips, and Chanyeol walks back to the hotel and straight to the elevator, hitting the button for the pool floor without even asking.

They’re actually wearing swimsuits this time, and Jongdae drops the pack of beers and then his shirt on the floor unceremoniously and with no warning before dipping into the pool. He resurfaces, shaking his hair like a wet dog, and grins at Chanyeol, holding two thumbs up.

Chanyeol’s been trying to get his mind off of this. He’s been trying hard, focusing on Jongdae being Baekhyun’s boyfriend, or on Jongdae being some sort of mogul he’s lucky enough to know. Right now, it’s impossible to remember anything about Jongdae other than the fact that he’s got the jaw of a greek deity, and at half past seven pm he’s giving Chanyeol a smile that makes the room look like it’s noon.

For his own sake, Chanyeol pads to the side of the pool and sinks his feet in the water, cracking a beer open. Eventually, after swimming from one side to the other of the pool a couple of times, Jongdae joins him, looking as satisfied as a cat with a ball of string, and he stretches his arm over his head, making Chanyeol come near to a heart attack. 

“You should go in, the water’s lovely,” Jongdae says so conversationally Chanyeol realizes that just because he knows he’s hot doesn’t mean he realizes what he can do to people. Or maybe he’s grown so used to Chanyeol drooling it doesn’t faze him anymore. 

It’s fine, Chanyeol figures, if he thinks Jongdae is hot. It’s a fact. Jongdae is kind, funny, smart, and he’s hot. These are all facts, and Chanyeol being aware of them just means he has a brain and is the proud owner of all six senses humans usually possess. That’s all it means. Either way, if it meant anything else, it wouldn’t matter, because Jongdae’s been laughing at him the entire trip and has been very successful at seeing Chanyeol as someone he’s been evaluating because the love of his life happens to be interested in him.

Chanyeol hasn’t forgotten about Baekhyun, not at all. It’s just that Jongdae’s overwhelming, and he’s confused. Very confused. He’s caught up in pondering upon his confusion when something hits him on the nose. It takes him a second to register it’s a peanut, and that Jongdae’s looking at him expectantly.

“Come on, show me your skill set and I’ll hire you,” Jongdae teases him, tossing a peanut in the air and catching it in his mouth. His throat — Chanyeol kills that thought the second it comes up in his brain. He doesn’t care about Jongdae’s throat. He cares about those peanuts, and getting them in his mouth.

It takes him five attempts, and by the end he’s so red he can feel his cheeks burning up, mostly because Jongdae’s been recording every failed attempt and sending the videos to Baekhyun, all while laughing so hard he’s out of air.

“That was amazing,” he says, wiping the tears from his eyes. Chanyeol’s just glad he’s amused him this much, and that feels like the wrong reaction to have but he’s had three beers and he can’t remember how to care about that anymore.

“If I go in the water while tipsy will I drown?” Chanyeol asks, eyes wide open in distress, and it sends Jongdae straight into cackling again. 

“I’ll save you, don’t worry.” He nods vigorously, like he hasn’t had his own three beers, but Chanyeol takes it and gets rid of his shirt quickly. Jongdae’s watching him, but it’s not like he has anywhere else to look. 

He sinks to the bottom of the pool in one swift move. It’s been a long time since he last got the chance to swim, but the motions come easily, and he takes his time coming up. When he finally does, he finds Jongdae in the water with him.

“I was worried, you weren’t coming up,” he says, laughing as he swims closer to him. “Was starting to fear I might have to bring you back to life, give you mouth to mouth and everything.”

It’s a stupid joke, but Chanyeol is caught off guard, and when he looks back at Jongdae he sees he’s smiling a bit too earnestly. There’s something off, like he’s worried about something, and Chanyeol can see what’s going to happen but he can’t make himself stop it. 

So Jongdae had noticed him. He swims up to him until they’re chest to chest, and he wishes he could say it’s spontaneous, that they didn’t think about it. But they look at each other like they’re making a decision out loud, and then Jongdae’s kissing him and Chanyeol is torn between wishing he could just drown and solve this whole mess already, and wishing he could stay here forever, his arms around Jongdae as he swims him backwards towards the wall so he can kiss him harder.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Baekhyun picks Jongdae up at the airport. He’s anxious and excited, and so confused, but when Jongdae comes out of the gate, he forgets about everything but his excitement, having to contain himself from running straight into his arms like it’s some dramatic movie scene. Jongdae’s grinning all the way up to him until they’re face to face, and then his whole expression crumbles and he hugs Baekhyun like he’s just escaped from a certain death, hiding his face in his chest.

“Too much turbulence?” Baekhyun jokes weakly, holding him tight to his chest. 

Jongdae breathes in, and then out, and then he pulls away, looking slightly less like he might start sobbing at any second. 

“Let’s just go home,” Jongdae says, voice quiet like Baekhyun hasn’t heard it in a while.

Because he believes in safety while driving, Baekhyun doesn’t let him speak until they’re home, Toben sneaking into Jongdae’s suitcase as soon as he’s opened it. It’s what he always does, and that brings Baekhyun some comfort, how he immediately gets to separating his clean clothes from the rest, folding them neatly while he starts to speak.

“That was a bit dramatic, wasn’t it?” Jongdae asks with a chuckle, like his breathing isn’t still shaky and loud. “Nothing bad happened, I promise, I just — I met Chanyeol.”

Baekhyun nods, waiting patiently, because of course he knows he’s met Chanyeol. He’s seen the videos. Deep down, he knows what Jongdae’s so upset about too, but he wants to hear him say it, just so he can understand it better.

“We kissed,” Jongdae says, so simply Baekhyun isn’t quite sure what to do with it. It’s not the explanation he was hoping for, and he opens his mouth to reply and then closes it again, no words coming out. Jongdae watches him quietly, and then sits next to him. “I swear that’s all that happened, and it was on the last night, we were kind of drunk… but I wanted to kiss him.”

“He’s very kissable,” Baekhyun agrees, and Jongdae’s face is so comical he almost laughs at it. He was staring at him like he was asking for mercy on his life, and Baekhyun can’t help but be amused by the situation.

“You’re not mad,” Jongdae states, and Baekhyun shrugs.

“I knew it would happen. Not when you left, obviously, that’s why I specifically asked you not to make him fall for you,” Baekhyun says, seeing the way Jongdae flinches, guilt all over his face. “But when you started texting me about him and he started texting me about you… it was pretty obvious.”

“We didn’t mean to,” Jongdae says again, like that makes any difference.

“Jongdae, if you’d gone there with the intent to steal the guy I like, then I would’ve been mad,” Baekhyun says slowly, like he’s explaining something very simple to a little kid. “But I know it wasn’t your plan, and I also know it was avoidable. And… I also know it doesn’t have to mean anything.”

Baekhyun gets what Chanyeol meant about Jongdae’s face being an open book now. He’s so used to it he never stopped to think about it, but right now, he can see very clearly how the idea of ditching his whole thing with Chanyeol like it means nothing is causing him distress.

“I suppose you’re right,” Jongdae says after a pause that feels like it lasts forever.

“What I mean is, it doesn’t have to mean anything bad for us,” Baekhyun clarifies, aware he could’ve said that a minute ago and spared Jongdae the pain, but he did ask him specifically not to do exactly what he did, so he thinks he’s allowed to make him work for the happy ending a little. “You didn’t forget about me while you were with him. And I know for a fact he didn’t stop thinking about me either. And like you said, there are no rules for this, so maybe we make up a new rule now and we can… do whatever we want.”

“What do you want to do?” Jongdae asks straight away, and Baekhyun’s heart really shouldn’t be skipping beats at Jongdae being thoughtful at this point in their lives, but it still does it. 

“I wanna be with you, like always,” Baekhyun says. “And I wanna be with him.”

Jongdae is about to say something, but he stops himself to lean in and kiss him. It’s a smart move, because Baekhyun hasn’t been kissed in three weeks and he was starting to wilt away like a plant with no water. He turns the kiss into something more than a peck quickly, grabbing Jongdae’s shirt and pulling him until his own back hits the bed, Jongdae on top of him.

“What about me and him?” Jongdae asks when he manages to catch his breath, and Baekhyun shrugs as well as he can in this position.

“I don’t care. I wouldn’t mind if you two got together. I feel like there’s a world of possibilities there, but I’m not sure how I feel about them just because I haven’t even seen you together in the same room yet, but I don’t hate the idea.”

It’s the understatement of the century, and the smirk on Jongdae’s face tells him he knows that.

“In that case,” Jongdae starts saying, his hands getting busy trying to get rid of Baekhyun’s shirt without him moving  from his position. “We’ll just have to wait and ask Chanyeol.”

“Oh no,” Baekhyun sighs, feigning despair with a hand to his forehead. “Whatever shall we do to keep busy until then?”

Jongdae chuckles, finally getting the shirt over Baekhyun’s head and dropping it on the floor.

“I have some ideas.”

  
  
  
  


(Chanyeol never really stood a chance, and he realizes it when Baekhyun ungraciously pushes him down on their bed, sitting next to him while Jongdae watches from a chair. The combination of the two of them in the same room is terrible, and Chanyeol already knows from the moment Baekhyun starts speaking that whatever plan of action they’ve come up with, he’ll have to say yes.)

  
  
  
  


Baekhyun’s alarm goes off at six am, and he opens his eyes with difficulty. He’s got one final exam, but he’s also got his boyfriend sleeping on top of him like some sort of cuddly octopus that’s gotten hold of him, and for a second he really misses Jongdae. The sound of the door wakes Chanyeol up and makes him shift slightly so Baekhyun can slip from under him, getting to his feet with one big yawn. 

Jongdae’s got muffins and a big latte which he hands to Baekhyun with no words, merely a kiss on the lips before he drops down on the bed, forcing Chanyeol to move aside. He smells funny, and Baekhyun follows him to bed to get a better idea of the scent. It’s Minseok’s, the upstairs neighbor, but there’s a tinge of something different and he can’t quite place it.

“Boyfriend.” Jongdae nods, eyes already closed, and Baekhyun isn’t allowed to be noisy before seven am but he thinks Chanyeol will understand why he’s cackling when he wakes up. Of course Minseok has a boyfriend and he still has Jongdae over. Of course Jongdae’s out having threesomes with other boys when he has two boyfriends at home. It makes so much sense, Baekhyun can’t believe they hadn’t thought about living like this until this year.

Chanyeol stirs in his sleep, but Jongdae rolls over and lands right on his chest and having someone to cuddle seems enough to send him back to dreaming. Jongdae looks tiny in his arms, and Baekhyun really wishes he didn’t have to run to ace that exam in like ten minutes or he’d squeeze himself right between them, which is exactly where he belongs. He’s a responsible kid though, so he drinks his coffee and leaves, wearing Chanyeol’s red shirt that falls almost to his knees but not quite. It’s a whole style he’s developed lately, just because Jongdae wears stupid dress shirts to work and has barely any normal clothes, so now he’s getting to live out his dream of stealing his boyfriend’s clothes, just with a different boyfriend.

He drops by Jongdae’s office after his exam, hoping to steal him away for lunch. The door to his office is closed, and he can hear him talking to someone from outside, so he walks around while he waits, absentmindedly heading towards Soojung’s office since she’s the one he’s most familiar with. 

Sunyoung’s sitting on the desk, which makes Baekhyun bite his tongue because Soojung has a history of telling him off for sitting on Jongdae’s desk when Jongdae’s never cared about it. He’s not sure how exactly Chanyeol and Jongdae got them to go out, but ever since they set them up, he can’t remember seeing one of them without the other. It makes him wonder what exactly Sunyoung does, besides giving out excellent love advice and dating Soojung, but he doesn’t dare ask in front of Soojung in case she takes it the wrong way and bans him from the building or something.

“Hello lovebirds,” Baekhyun greets with a grin which Sunyoung mirrors immediately. Soojung rolls her eyes at him, which in her language means she’s missed him. He’s pretty sure of that. “What’s cooking at Jongdae and co. enterprises today?”

Of his many skills, there’s none he’s more proud of than how quickly he can make Soojung go from indifference to wanting to murder him in public. 

“That’s not the name, asshole,” she says, rolling her eyes so far back it almost looks dangerous. “But I think Jongdae’s been busy all morning trying to find the perfect internship for his tall boyfriend.”

It stings, and she knows it. Baekhyun puts a hand on his heart, mouthing “ouch” as he turns, hearing Jongdae’s door opening up. 

“Send Chanyeol my love,” Sunyoung shouts after him, because she’s a sweetheart and Soojung doesn’t deserve her. 

Jongdae’s waiting for him by the door, pulling him in by the waist to kiss him as soon as he’s close enough.

“How did it go?”

“Terrible, thanks for asking,” Baekhyun sighs dramatically, and Jongdae chuckles.

“Sorry. Next time, huh?” he asks, kissing him again. From her office, Soojung yells something Baekhyun doesn’t quite get, but he can imagine what sort of polite advice she’s giving them. “Wanna come inside? Chanyeol’s coming over for lunch, but in like an hour.”

They close the door so Soojung won’t shout any more inappropriate things at them, and Jongdae presses Baekhyun against his desk, kissing the line of his jaw.

“Did it really go terribly?”

“No, it was fine,” Baekhyun concedes, distracted by his lips on his skin. “How are you feeling today?”

“Good,” Jongdae says, pausing on his path down to his neck and pulling away to look him in the eyes. “You?”

“Good,” Baekhyun nods. It’s important, checking in, making sure they’re still on the same page. There’s too many hearts involved and they’re all on the line, so they have to keep an eye on it. “I’m always good with you.”

“Good,” Jongdae says, chuckling softly as he goes back to kissing Baekhyun’s neck. It’s an abuse of his power as the boss to be trying to undress his boyfriend in his office, but he owes him because last time Chanyeol came over for lunch they did a lot more than that and Baekhyun hates feeling excluded.

A whole hour and a half goes by before Chanyeol shows up, and by the time he knocks at the door, Baekhyun’s reading a book on the chair, fully dressed, and Jongdae’s on the phone again.

“Sorry I’m late,” Chanyeol says, sounding out of breath as he approaches Baekhyun, kissing him and heading straight to Jongdae after, who pauses his conversation to get his own kiss. He goes back to Baekhyun, attempting to sit on his lap despite the chair creaking dangerously under them, and Jongdae hurries through the end of his call, hanging up as fast as he can so they don’t break something. 

“Don’t worry,” Baekhyun says quietly as Jongdae forces them both to stand up, tugging on their hands and lecturing them on boundaries at his office, which are apparently a thing all of a sudden now that the life of his chair is in danger. “You showed up right on time.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> as always i'm @ceotiffanyyoung on twitter if u wanna come ask me who minseok's boyfriend is


End file.
